Kamilla Cardoso plans to land in Chicago this week ready to work.
After being selected at No. 3 by the Sky in the WNBA draft just a week after winning the national championship with South Carolina, Cardoso didn’t feel there was time to take any sort of break. She maintained her workout routine throughout the whirlwind process of the draft and her final days of college with one goal in mind — making an immediate impact on the Sky this season.
“I’ve been working since we won the championship,” Cardoso said. “Actually, I never stopped. I’m just excited to go (to Chicago) and start training camp.”
Cardoso, a native of Brazil, will arrive in Chicago for the first time on Thursday and begin training camp with the Sky on Sunday. The Sky will play their first preseason game on May 4 and kick off the regular season on the road against the Dallas Wings on May 15. That gives Cardoso just five weeks of turnaround from the NCAA championship game in April, in which she led the Gamecocks as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
Despite her success as a first-year starter with South Carolina this season, Cardoso knows the WNBA is a completely different challenge. Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley is known for her ability to prepare star players such as A’ja Wilson and Aaliyah Boston for the league — and Cardoso doesn’t plan on being the exception. As a result, she went through a series of boot camp-style workouts with the South Carolina athletic training staff to prepare for her first WNBA training camp.
But adapting to the WNBA is about more than just the on-court challenges.
“It’s like a big girl job,” Cardoso joked. “I’m going to have to grow up.”
Cardoso also knows the areas of her game she hopes to improve as a rookie. Her shot profile will be an immediate focus as the center aims to develop her game off the block to adapt to the stretch-style post style that is popular in both the WNBA and NBA.
Kamilla Cardoso making her first media appearance (via Zoom) as a Chicago Sky player today.
Talked a bit about what she’d like to improve as a WNBA player, especially adding to her shot profile: “Maybe threes.” pic.twitter.com/SAa6xs4f9b
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) April 23, 2024
This means building a reliable jump shot. Cardoso took the first and only 3-pointer of her collegiate career in the SEC championship game this season, sinking a wide-open shot from the top of the arc after she was left completely unguarded due to her lack of history shooting the ball from long range.
That’s something Cardoso hopes to change in the league.
“I’m just looking forward to improving my game such as outside shooting, midrange, maybe 3s,” Cardoso said. “Just keep growing.”
Before ever stepping foot into a WNBA training camp, Cardoso was already facing questions of how she hopes to build a legacy in the league — especially as she joins a franchise that previously rostered frontcourt legends like Sylvia Fowles and Candace Parker.
It’s a natural line of questioning for a breakout star in one of the most highly touted draft classes in the league’s history. But despite the anticipation surrounding this year’s WNBA season, Cardoso doesn’t want to look too far into the future as she joins her fellow rookies.
“It’s amazing,” Cardoso said. “This draft class was amazing. I think we made history. We brought more viewers to the women’s game and I think it’s going to be great and just being able to bring all of our college fans to watch the W is a great thing, so I’m excited.”